Shared Health’s drop-in sessions about PR, not staff safety, nurses union says

Drop-in sessions to address safety concerns at Health Sciences Centre are more of a public relations opportunity than a genuine effort to protect nurses in their workplace, the union that represents them said Monday.

“It is a direct result of public pressure following grey listing, not a genuine commitment to collaboration,” Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson said in a social media post Monday.

Union members who work at HSC voted earlier this month to grey list — formally urge colleagues elsewhere not to accept shifts or job offers — at Manitoba’s largest hospital until their safety demands are met.

Since the nurses’ voted 94 per cent in favour of the measure, there have been four drop-in sessions — the first of which was held in “a noisy, high-traffic food court” — for staff to share their concerns and suggestions over a free coffee, Jackson said in the post.

“It is a publicity opportunity to host a very serious meeting in front of people passing by,” she wrote.

Nurses who attended the first session hosted by Shared Health said “it was absolutely chaotic,” Jackson told the Free Press Monday.

“There (were) people walking past, visiting. It was in such an open public area that it was very difficult to hear. It was very difficult to say very much. One of the nurses said, ‘Thank God I’m loud, because I got my point across,’ but no one felt really comfortable with it being out in a public venue.”

“It is a publicity opportunity to host a very serious meeting in front of people passing by.”– Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson said in a social media post Monday.

Meetings have amounted to “lip service” with no concrete action taken to address safety concerns after four women and a teenage girl were sexually assaulted on or around the hospital grounds on July 2, Jackson said.

The nurses, 1,000 of whom turned out to vote on grey listing Aug. 8, want access to the hospital and the HSC campus tunnel system restricted, she said, adding officials have balked.

“There seems to be a thought that having fewer entrances that are more secure would not be culturally sensitive or trauma-informed,” Jackson said.

“I absolutely agree that all care should be culturally sensitive and trauma-informed, whether it’s care by security staff or whether it’s care by anyone on that staff. However, that doesn’t outweigh the fact that we need to keep our staff and our patients and our visitors safe.”

“We are actively improving safety and security at Health Sciences Centre, including meeting with staff to hear their suggestions and experiences.”– Shared Health spokesperson via email

A Shared Health spokesperson said the meeting at the 24-hour food court was the best-attended of the four safety and security drop-ins led by the agency’s interim president and CEO Dr. Chris Christodoulou and HSC executives, none of whom were available for an interview.

“We are actively improving safety and security at Health Sciences Centre, including meeting with staff to hear their suggestions and experiences,” and reducing the number of unsecured public entrances, the spokesperson said in an email Monday.

“We sincerely thank all staff who have attended meetings for their willingness to share their experiences and feedback with us. Private meetings are also available for those who prefer to speak confidentially.”

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Tuesdays

A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world.

Sign up for Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Related Articles

‘Everyone’s at risk right now when you come to HSC’

Possible grey list a black mark for HSC

‘Really upsetting’: nurse blasts lack of hospital communication after sex assaults in, near HSC

Police search for suspect in four sex assaults in, around HSC

Finding a better way than ramped up security

Manitoba’s regional authorities spent over $35M last year in the ongoing effort to keep health-care workers safe

Nearly half of all violent incidents against physicians in Manitoba occur at HSC, survey reveals

NDP’s lethargic, incomplete responses to HSC nurses’ safety concerns politically short-sighted

Three more drop-in meetings have been scheduled this week at HSC to maximize accessibility for staff, the email said.

Jackson said the union has been raising concerns about safety with HSC management for years — every time a nurse is sworn at, threatened, punched or sexually assaulted.

“You wouldn’t be grey listed if we had talked and actually collaborated and got something done,” she said. “This is a result of absolute inaction.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.

Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.